The invention relates to an optical fiber connector for joining the ends of two light wave guides or optical fibers or of a plurality of pairs of such optical fibers in such a manner that the end faces of the fiber which are securely positioned in abutment with, or in a predetermined distance from, one another and the fibers of each pair are in axial alignment, the connector consisting of plates interconnected by flexible hinge portions and locking structures disposed on the sides opposite the hinge portions and having fiber receiving guide grooves formed in the plates.
Such optical fiber connectors are needed for the joining of light conducting fibers disposed in light signal transmitting fibers. Since for practical reasons such fibers cannot be manufactured in unlimited lengths and quite frequently consist of relatively short lengths, optical fiber connectors must be utilized in relatively large numbers. The joining of optical fibers by such connectors should therefore be simple so that no especially skilled workers are required for the installation of optical fiber cables and it should further be possible to manufacture the connectors economically.
In spite of the requirement for simple assembly of the fibers and connectors the fibers to be joined must be positioned by the connectors in such a manner that little, if any, light signal losses occur. This requires at least that the fiber ends remain in axial alignment. For checking the distance between the faces of each pair of fibers the fiber joints should also be observable. It should also be possible to cast the joint into a synthetic resin for stabilization of the fiber joint.
A prior art connector of this type as disclosed in DE-PS-No. 2557660 consists of two hinged plates provided with guide grooves for the reception of the optical fibers. For joining, the fiber ends to be connected are placed into the grooves in the plates and cut to such a length that the end faces of the fibers are disposed adjacent one another when the plates are folded up. In spite of the simple design of this connector the proper mounting of the fiber ends is quite difficult since the cable ends are fixed in their positions only when the two plates are folded up and locked together. It may also be pointed out that firm mounting of the fiber ends in the grooves of the plates is not insured since the rigid walls of the grooves cannot adapt to the diameter tolerances of the light conducting fibers. Furthermore, a checking of the position of the fiber ends within the connector is not possible once the connector is closed.